All Hail King Thierry

On the 17th of August, 1977, a king was born in Les Ulis, France. The name of the king, Thierry Henry. In 1990 a gem was discovered. Monaco asked Arnold Catalano, a scout, to watch Thierry Henry play against a local side, Henry’s team won 6-0, with Henry scoring all six goals. From that point he was offered a place at Monaco’s academy, despite his poor school results. The manager of Monaco at this time was the professor himself, Arsene Wenger, this would mark the beginning of a magical relationship between the two Frenchmen.

During his time at Monaco, Henry was deployed as a winger due to his wicked pace,trickery and excellent ball control. Henry had the ability to terrorize fullbacks and centre-backs game in, game out. After a fairly hesitant start at the French side, Henry was named the French young footballer of the year in 1996. The following season, thanks to some superb performances from Henry, Monaco won the league. In the 1997-1998 season, Thierry set a new French record by scoring seven goals in the Uefa Champions League at such a young age. In this same season Henry was handed his first ever international cap.

In January 1999, Thierry Henry was bought by Italian giants Juve. Unfortunately for him he failed to adapt to Italian football due to the defensive discipline there. Following his unsuccessful spell in Italy, Henry signed for Arsenal for a fee of 11 million, not only reuniting with Arsene Wenger but eventually taking his seat on the throne of football. Millions of football fans felt Arsene Wenger had overspent on Thierry Henry but Wenger remained calm, and urged fans Henry was worth the money. Henry’s move to Arsenal would mark the beginning of Henry playing as a striker as he was bought to replace fellow Frenchman Nicolas Anelka. Henry’s start to English football was not too impressive as he failed to score in his eight games, but that was soon forgotten as by the end of the season Henry had picked up 26 goals. Unfortunately, that season Arsenal finished second behind United and lost in the UEFA cup final to Galatasaray. The breakthrough season for Thierry was his second season, despite scoring fewer goals, Henry became the clubs top goalscorer and a fan favourite. Just before the season started Henry was in sublime form for France in the Euro 2000 .

In the 2001-2002 season, Henry helped Arsenal complete the double as they won both the premier league and FA Cup. Thierry won his first piece of silverware with the club, something he had failed to do in the two previous seasons. Henry was the league’s top goalscorer netting 32 goals in all competitions. The next season, Arsenal and Henry retained the FA Cup, but failed to retain the league. The striker was edged out by RVN by 1 goal, as the Dutchman won the golden boot. However Henry would still go on to win the PFA’s player of the year award, FWA footballer of the year award and the 2003 FIFA world player of the year award. A truly brilliant year for Thierry.

The following season was “the unforgettable season”, the season that saw the birth of the invincibles. Arsenal managed to go 49 games unbeaten, something that had never been done before by any club. The likes of Bergkamp, Pires, Viera and Henry himself, were key to Arsenal’s success. Thierry scored 39 goals that season winning the European Golden Boot award. Once again Henry was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year. The 2004-2005 season saw a dip in Arsenal’s success. Arsenal failed to retain the title but they did manage to win the FA Cup. Henry went on to break a record by becoming the first player to be awarded the European Golden boot award twice, as he scored 31 goals. When Vieira left, Henry was given the captaincy. Not only was he now the chief goal scorer for the club but he was the leader of the team. Many upcoming youngsters such as Cesc looked up to him.

The 2005-2006 season is a season, Henry personally will never forget. In this season Thierry Henry became the clubs top goal-scorer of all time. The following season is the season that no Arsenal will forget easily. Arsenal reached the final of the champions league but sadly lost to Barcelona on controversial terms. Rumous began to circulate about whether Henry would join Barcelona in the summer. The Arsenal chairman at that time David Dein stated Arsenal had rejected two 50 million bids for Henry for Barcelona. However the next season would be frustrating for Henry as he was injured throughout, and only scored 10 goals. Then came the moment that broke my heart. On the 25th June, 2007 Sky Sports News stunned the world by announcing Thierry Henry had left Arsenal and signed for Barcelona. All Arsenal fans that day would have shed a tear. Including myself. Henry had been turned from an explosive unknown winger to a world class striker. All those who thought Wenger spent too much money on Henry were forced to eat their tongues. Just before he left, Arsenal.com voted him as Arsenal’s greatest player ever.

Unfortunately, Henry was never able to recreate his success at Arsenal at Barcelona. He constantly found himself on the bench as the likes of Eto’o and Messi would start. Henry spent three years at the club before moving to New York Red Bulls in 2010. The legendary striker was highly impressive on his debut making two assists. Then came January, and the speculation began. Reports stated Arsenal wanted Henry back but on loan. Despite it only being on loan, the moment all Arsenal fans had been dreaming about since Henry left became reality and then it happened. Arsenal faced Leeds United in the FA cup and were drawing 0-0. Then with 15 minutes to go, Thierry Henry made his much anticipated return to Arsenal. Alex Song picked up the ball….spotted Henry’s run….played the ball into Henry’s feet and what did he do? He did what Henry does best, he finessed the ball into the back of the net sending everyone watching wild. I personally remember screaming the house down.

Thierry Henry has been and will always be my favourite player. His pace, skill, strength and finishing ability can not be matched by anyone on the Earth, not even Messi. Henry will always be the greatest ever Arsenal player and is a true legend. Oh Hail King Thierry!